EC begins groundwork for polls in five states

Agartala: The Election Commission has begun the spadework for Assembly Elections in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, scheduled early next year, an official said here on Tuesday.

"The Commission might hold the Assembly polls due in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh separately. After conducting the elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, Assembly polls might be hold in the three northeastern states," an Election Commission official said on condition of anonymity.

The poll panel last month held a meeting with the top officials of the five states to discuss strategy.

The Election Commission has asked the chief electoral officers of the three election-bound northeastern states -- Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland -- to conduct a summary revision of electoral rolls and to include all voters under the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) scheme.

"The three-month-long summary revision would start in October and end on January 5, 2013 with the publication of final electoral rolls. The qualifying date of the proposed rolls would be January 1, 2013," the official added.

Tripura is ruled by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Front, the Naga People`s Front (NPF) led by Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) is in power in Nagaland and Meghalaya is ruled by the Congress. The Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.